tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51007507832737813552012-02-17T09:48:23.841+08:00I'm a singer and cook trapped in the body of an HR professional. Experimenting is the name of my game. What you'll find here is a mixed bag: a treasure trove of traditional and fusion foods, all with two common ingredients, enthusiasm and love.Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.comBlogger5711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-61289199520912918262011-08-24T10:23:00.001+08:002011-08-24T10:23:39.001+08:00

There are simple dishes. There are yummy, creamy, restaurant-like dishes. And then there are those that are both. The ones that are both are not common. This is one of those dishes. Simple to make and yet classy affairs. I had gotten bored of our rice-dal-vegetable-sambar-rasam routine and was craving something different. I had all the ingredients on hand and made this last night. The perfect

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-38948082283771587002011-08-23T15:20:00.000+08:002011-08-23T15:20:59.913+08:00

I have always loved this time of the year. It sort of marks the beginning of the festival season for me.  Janmashtami or Sri Krishna Jayanti is one of the more important festivals in my family. Now that I have a little Krishna of my own, it becomes even more important. As always, there was some confusion about the dates. I just picked a date that was convenient to me and celebrated the

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-3939688685374425642011-08-22T15:30:00.006+08:002011-08-22T15:34:48.522+08:00

The cake monsoon is on at The Singing Chef. I would like to believe that the season will change shortly or else I may need a new wardrobe very soon. I am on a baking spree and there is no proverbial light at the end of this tunnel. I have had a lot of people ask me for eggless versions of my cakes. I have to admit, I never really baked too many eggless cakes. And whenever I absolutely needed

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-60928165106379009102011-08-06T11:00:00.003+08:002011-08-06T11:00:03.359+08:00

I know a lot of people who start their day with a bowl of oatmeal porridge. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I've always craved some sort of a breakfast routine and am very envious of those who manage to stick to one. My parents, for example, will start six out of seven days in a week with a bowl of oatmeal. Outwardly, I make fun of them and ask them whether they never tire of it. But

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-49622214969684842502011-08-03T17:04:00.005+08:002011-08-03T23:30:23.675+08:00

It is still raining cakes here. It is not as though I have not been cooking. I have been cooking a great deal. We've been eating new versions of old food as well as a lot of new foods. However, I'm also very hardpressed for time. My almost 6 month old is a handful, but I have also taken up studying for another master's degree. So, even if I do remember to take pictures of the food I make, they

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-4527623087438459232011-06-09T10:52:00.002+08:002011-06-09T10:53:14.175+08:00

It's raining cakes on The Singing Chef! It was an unsual Saturday for us. We were to have one couple over for dinner. But A was unwell and we needed to make a trip to the paediatrician. So, we cancelled that dinner. As luck would have it, we weren't able to get an appointment for that day. I was feeling bad that we'd cancelled plans with our friends and were unable to take A to the doctor.

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-32096619262437657132011-06-07T09:30:00.000+08:002011-06-07T09:30:01.033+08:00

I have often talked about my love for baking. I started baking a couple of years before I started cooking and so there's always been a soft spot for baking. Yes, there are the calories to think about. There's no running away from all that butter and sugar. Over the past few years, I have learnt to substitute oil for butter, jaggery for sugar, etc, in more recent times, I have rediscovered cakes

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-60638787497662264202011-06-06T11:14:00.000+08:002011-06-06T11:14:18.691+08:00

Dal is almost a staple in our house. I don't make it everyday, but I make it very often. On days when it is pasta/noodles or anything other than rice and roti, dal doesn't make an appearance, but it is there to grace our meals on every other occasion. Growing up, I saw only four varieties of dal being used. Toor dal (red gram dal) was the most common. Moong dal came second and not a close

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-40914517671596677152011-06-04T11:36:00.003+08:002011-06-04T12:31:16.127+08:00

Mushrooms have always been a favourite. There was a time when it was a rare commodity and I'd gotten into the habit of picking up a packet whenever I saw one. Now I live in a city where I don't have to even look and there's every variety of mushroom available in the shelves here. I hope to learn to use them all over time. I found a punnet of assorted mushrooms in the supermarket the other

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-45273440632425123092011-05-27T11:11:00.003+08:002011-05-27T11:42:51.438+08:00

I am enjoying every minute of living in Singapore. I have not yet stopped going crazy at the grocery stores and keep finding things that had, until now, existed only in the cookbooks. I did have access to Ricotta Cheese and Mascarpone even in Gurgaon, but this is different. I have bought a can of evaporated milk though I can't remember which recipe had asked for it. That's how crazy I've become

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-33021980721049915392011-05-23T12:18:00.046+08:002011-05-23T15:12:37.522+08:00

This weekend saw a lot of cooking as I had invited two friends from my college days over for dinner. One of them has two children and the older child loves baking. I had never really taught a child how to bake anything and I had a great time making chocolate brownies with the girls. For dinner, we had Bisi Bele Huli Anna, Coconut Sevai, Lemon Sevai, Cucumber Pachadi, and Carrot Peanut

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-72897974382207289362011-05-02T05:49:00.003+08:002011-06-06T09:59:12.604+08:00

About a couple of years ago, a couple decided to go on an impromptu vacation for a couple of weeks and visit a couple of places. They'd known this other couple in one of the places they intended to visit and had met them before a couple of times. The other couple invited this couple to stay with them. Most everything about the stay is a blur today. The only thing I can remember about my dear

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-19690980670418894802011-04-20T13:07:00.000+08:002011-04-20T13:07:30.879+08:00

When we first moved to Singapore, I was dumbstruck by the variety of produce that I saw in the markets. The wet markets, the supermarkets, and the gourmet stores were all filled with every kind of fruit and vegetable. Yes, I'd read about most things, especially since I started blogging. But to see them for real was something else. I was literally the kid in a candy (err... fruit and vegetable)

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-55203438840052848942011-04-12T21:57:00.001+08:002011-04-12T21:59:34.298+08:00

I have resumed baking and suddenly there's no stopping me. I was going through the recipes on this blog and decided to make some stuffed buns since Amma had been mentioning them for a while. I couldn't decide which kind of buns to make. I remembered that S once ate Vada Pav at the Bombay airport and he told me the vada had been baked inside the pav. I thought that was a great idea. The more I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-49702538125231674772011-04-06T18:23:00.042+08:002011-04-06T18:48:24.124+08:00

Gulab Jamuns. I think of them of little dumplings of goodness. While I can't stand the cloyingly sweet store bought ones, I love the ones that are made at home. I have to stop myself from eating too many of these whenever Amma makes them. She made them today and we had them after lunch. All I needed was one bite and I was transported to kingdom happiness. I even remembered that this blog has

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-20824116841139993572011-01-06T19:30:00.004+08:002011-06-06T14:45:40.841+08:00

The new year is here. And my only wish is that it is a good year for each and everyone of us. We began 2010 with friends at a hill station and hoped that the year would have a lot of travel. I must admit, I felt a little cheated in this regard. Not only did we not travel all that much, the few trips that I did have planned, I had to cancel for different reasons. Yet, even on that front, I did

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-79345452698068632662010-12-31T21:40:00.003+08:002010-12-31T21:42:01.565+08:00

How does one even begin to summarize a year which seems to have packed in so much? The year which began for in the absolutely cold snow mountains and will end in the sunny and warm tropics. On January 1, 2010, if someone had told me that the year would bring a whole host of changes, I'd have laughed and said that that is what every year does. But as I look back today on the year gone by, I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-19889093358608082222010-12-29T13:40:00.004+08:002010-12-29T13:40:00.500+08:00

I miss going to work. The reasons are countless. One of the biggest food related pluses of going to work is getting to taste different kinds of dishes. One of the other pluses is getting new ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner or just being able to give new twists to routine dishes. But the food related aspect I miss the most about working is being guaranteed company at mealtimes. Eating

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-33405783233565854372010-12-27T19:57:00.032+08:002010-12-27T20:14:50.355+08:00

There was a time I hadn't heard of pesto. Then came the time when I'd heard about it, but knew nothing about it. Then came the time when I first ate it. And then came the present. The time when I've heard about it, I know about it, I've eaten it, I make it and I experiment with different flavours. I've come a long way from asking a friend to bring me pine nuts from the US to using the humble

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-42174569765926894022010-12-09T16:35:00.010+08:002010-12-09T16:41:46.098+08:00

The last few months were a little crazy for us. Work, the commute, the rains, and the Commonwealth Games. Bang in the middle of all this, came our decision to move to a different country. Work had become more hectic all of a sudden. The unprecedented rains caused traffic snarls that transformed my otherwise 2 hour commute back into a 6 hour commute. The roads caved in for most part. To add to

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-59386481625190356922010-12-08T15:20:00.001+08:002010-12-08T15:20:56.523+08:00

The one big food related plus of having time on my hands, which was a scarce commodity barely two months ago, is being able to make dishes that require a little more time than others. It helps also to live in a city where many ingredients are easy to come by. For instance, I found this bag of almost identical sized baby brinjals   when we went grocery shopping. I bought the bag immediately,

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-72693725464226518512010-12-03T09:30:00.001+08:002010-12-03T09:32:19.975+08:00

Here is the dish I really wanted to send in to the RCI Udipi and Mangalore (how long ago was that?) event that Sia hosted. I just didn't make it in time. This dish is Mangalorean in every possible way. Amchi in every possible way actually. It has all the ingredients that amchis love: coconut, tamarind, jaggery, bedgi chillies and tendli! Though this is made with a little gravy (not much), I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-42159482099686411672010-11-30T11:54:00.001+08:002010-11-30T11:56:05.225+08:00

Adai. It has to be one more of those acquired tastes. I have childhood memories of eating Adai with jaggery. As I grew older, the combination didn't seem so attractive. Or maybe Amma didn't give me jaggery anymore with Adais. My "love" for the Dosa probably overshadowed my appetite for any of its many cousins. One of my friends, P, told me to make sure that I always have dosa batter of some

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-12229656712128560302010-11-16T14:35:00.000+08:002010-11-16T14:36:35.749+08:00

I have a whole variety of dishes that I make with fresh fenugreek leaves. Methi Pulao, Methi Mutter Malai, Palak Methi Dal, etc. But I realized I'd almost never tried to use the leaves in any kind of south Indian cooking. This one time that I brought home a fresh bunch, I decided not to go down the Aloo Methi path and tread on my other tried and tested route instead. The route which leads me

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-43593336110009018202010-11-12T16:39:00.003+08:002010-11-12T20:41:34.431+08:00

I've resumed cooking. It was something I had to do to bring in a sense of "normalcy" into my life. Attempting to cook in the serviced apartment without a pressure cooker was an experience in itself. I realized how much I took my kitchen in Gurgaon for granted. But I also realized that healthy meals are possible even if you have almost no appliances and only three utensils. After we moved into

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-3575414710282513702010-11-10T11:17:00.000+08:002010-11-10T11:18:47.131+08:00

While growing up, how many times did you have to be told to eat something because it is good for you? I've lost count. Of course, I also didn't have to be told such things. I didn't quite know that  there was this option to say, "I don't want this." The only threats/coaxing I ever received had to do with the speed of my eating. "XYZ's mother says that her hair grows long because she sits down

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-32140723780216125822010-11-09T15:30:00.002+08:002010-11-09T15:42:12.300+08:00

As an adult, I developed a taste for stuff that I almost always turned up my nose at as a child. Pasta is one of them. Considering how often pasta finds its way into our meals, it feels like my childhood must have been part of another life. The inspiration for this dish comes from one of the baked dishes I tried almost a decade ago in Madras. It comes together very easily, especially if you

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-23862967432074432792010-11-08T10:58:00.006+08:002010-11-08T15:47:05.516+08:00

Garlic. While many people I know would turn their noses up at this bulb, S and I are two of a kind, the other kind. Yes, we'd both firmly fall into the "Mad about garlic" club. A few months ago, S was unwell and his mother said that garlic would help. So, I sat and peeled an entire bulb. (Now I know it will be a long time before I have to sit down and peel an entire bulb. At least I have

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-18741281835244694042010-10-20T10:40:00.000+08:002010-10-20T15:13:17.808+08:00

  I am back here after a really long hiatus. I missed this space and missed my interactions with my fellow bloggers. This is the longest I have been away from this blog. Quite a few of you dropped by to ask if I was OK. Thanks everyone. We just relocated to a new country and I am taking my time settling down. I will resume regular cooking as soon I have my kitchen set up. In the meanwhile, I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-5776046429683826752010-08-03T22:30:00.028+08:002010-08-13T16:38:54.358+08:00

Life isn't all just one flavour. It would be terribly boring if it were. The people that make our lives what they are come in all shapes and sizes, not to mention flavours. Some people are themselves very sweet at times, a tad sharp at others and every meeting with them leaves you with a strong memory. This cake is very representative of someone just like that. 1/2 cup Flour1/2 cup Whole Wheat

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-41315400769631550002010-07-06T17:15:00.003+08:002010-11-10T15:13:34.829+08:00

Bitter Gourd! Most people hate it. Some people love it. I am one of those very few people who are indifferent to it. I can't profess undying love for the vegetable. I can never bring myself to say I don't like it. I can't  even relate to either group of people. I have never stopped looking for recipes that are simple and use bitter gourd. Simple only because S won't touch the vegetable. And I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-31003029947050821202010-06-28T22:30:00.004+08:002010-06-28T22:30:00.888+08:00

It was one of those days. I had the day off and S had to be at work (on a Saturday). Since it was a no-rush day for me, I offered to drop him at work and also told him that I’d make hot lunch and bring it to the office at lunch time. (That way, I didn’t have to rustle something up in a hurry before he left.) On the way back home, I had some bank errands to run and I used all that time to figure

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-46405618918866129822010-06-06T14:30:00.001+08:002010-06-06T14:38:55.940+08:00

Snacks and healthy. I wonder if the two words go together. Most snacks tend to be fried and I've tried baking instead of frying. It works often, not always. I came across these eggplant pizzas somewhere on the web and thought that the idea was fantastic. I didn't bookmark it and recreated it at home from memory. Later, when I found the recipe again, it turned out I had followed it to a great

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-44595182548234852882010-05-31T23:15:00.004+08:002010-06-28T18:17:48.983+08:00

While I have made Lemon Sevai reasonably often, I haven't made Lemon Rice as much. I tend to stick to making it only on Pongal or during the "Aadi Maasam" (if I remember). Now, I make it when we have people over for a meal. In these parts, a South Indian meal is not complete if there is no lemon rice. I have seen lots of people eat lemon rice with sambar. I don't think of it as a great

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-90081221072082117392010-05-30T21:30:00.001+08:002010-05-30T21:30:00.518+08:00

A year and a half ago, one of my namesakes posted this recipe on her blog. I wanted to try them instantly. Instant, in this case, turned out to be 18 months or so. Last Saturday, I had everything I needed. Well almost. So, I changed the recipe a bit and they turned out great. I know I will make these often and the next time around, I shall take pictures as they come out of the oven. While

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-47887036228327819652010-05-29T21:17:00.001+08:002010-05-29T21:19:16.888+08:00

This has to be one of the most popular konkani dishes to have been invented. Amma made it very often when we were growing up and on weekends, we would have a meal of rice, dali-saar and batata song. I can't say it is my favourite dish, but I do love it. Amma makes a slightly different version which has coconut in it, but I tried this minus the coconut. Amma added coconut to reduce the spice

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-17745337179156527242010-05-15T02:01:00.044+08:002010-05-15T15:23:08.901+08:00

Baking! Everytime I start to bake, I wonder why I don't bake more often. I'd love to experiment with flavours and try new cakes. But I do have a waist at this moment and I'd like to continue to have it in my possession. In the last couple of weeks, I have been baking a cake for every occasion, big or small. I baked a banana nut loaf to take to a friend's place for breakfast, a carrot cake last

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-4078915389252699102010-05-03T02:25:00.029+08:002010-05-07T14:14:37.501+08:00

These days, I'm on a high. There are lots of things happening, lots of good things. I celebrated two very important milestones this weekend and it is time for the third. All of you know that I started this blog on a holiday we had about two days after I joined my “new” place of work. I completed three years with the company and that is a first for me. In one of the jobs I’d held earlier, I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-33962132174938276382010-04-18T13:48:00.003+08:002010-05-15T15:25:37.913+08:00

I'm rediscovering traditional cooking. I shied away from traditional cooking for a long time because I wanted to break away from the ordinary. After years of having broken away, it appears as though traditional food is the change I need from my routine. And I'm also rediscovering sukke, as it turns out. I can't seem to have enough of this preparation. While I tried it with different

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-72841577813881579232010-04-15T22:30:00.003+08:002010-04-15T22:30:00.214+08:00

When we were growing up, there was no concept of "tiffin". Amma says that we were always too impatient to wait for her to make anything. We'd have a glass of milk after school and rush out to play, only to come back in time for dinner. Sometimes, the traditional "tiffin" items would be served at dinner time. Those were nights to look forward to. Since I am still not in the habit of making an

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-8260627236549792632010-04-14T16:21:00.002+08:002010-04-14T16:26:26.386+08:00

As you've all noticed, I've gone traditional. I am enjoying picking Amma's brains of dishes that she used to make when we (my brother and I) were children. I'm enjoying recreating those dishes at home. I find that when I grind a masala for a dish that Amma's just finished telling me about on the phone, the aroma that hits my nose as soon as I open the mixer jar transports me right back to my

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-25209222986445611532010-04-13T16:19:00.005+08:002010-04-13T17:39:12.032+08:00

I joined the Great Vega'N Vegetarian project some time ago. I noticed that Cynthia had written a post about steamed plantains for breakfast. It took me back to a time (and place, more importantly) when plantains were easily available. As a child, I don't remember having eaten steamed plantains. I ate them as an adult when someone told me they made for an ideal breakfast. This dish, however, is

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-4495374355597473492010-03-29T22:30:00.029+08:002010-03-30T11:37:37.347+08:00

There’s this woman we all know in the blogosphere. She’s more of a temptress, really. She’s made me crave so many things that I’ve sometimes wanted to dash across the city and insist that she feed me. She even obliged one time and brought me some home made Goda Masala so I could make her Spicy Nutty Cluster Beans. I remember looking at her Kadhi Pakoda and feeling hungry all over again. I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-8502993600380988252010-03-24T23:30:00.022+08:002010-03-25T18:24:08.162+08:00

Amma calls me the "Thogayal queen". Whenever I cook a south Indian meal (Konkani, Tamil or Telugu) I try and make it a point to make a thuvayal. It serves many purposes: There's one more vegetable dish Mix it with rice and you've got one entire course It removes the need for a pickle with curd rice It makes for a good bread spread/side for idli and dosa, so the next morning's breakfast

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-48503794098819337902010-03-23T22:30:00.003+08:002010-03-24T12:25:17.662+08:00

This has been one long overdue post. I baked this “healthy” cake for Amma’s birthday in December. I cut it myself while wishing her over the phone and we promptly ate it. I took the cake to work the next day and it was gone in no time. I played around with this cake because I have seen a lot of people blindly bring ingredients together and bake a cake. I have always wanted to stick to a recipe.

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-17784815312908988872010-03-21T19:30:00.001+08:002010-03-21T22:43:43.528+08:00

Since I had to cook fairly traditional meals over the last three weeks, I did a lot of “food-processing” over the weekends. I peeled kilo after kilo of sambar onions that I brought back from Bangalore, diced carrots, beetroots and zucchini and chayote squash, chopped beans and cabbage and filled my freezer with different “vegetable mixes” – for sambar, avial, kootu and pulao, in addition to

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-42553256204719678342010-03-20T19:30:00.006+08:002010-03-20T19:42:52.854+08:00

I love baking. I just don't bake often enough. I have been putting off baking with yeast and had promised myself that I would start when spring came. It is already hot and I realized that the "blink and you miss it" nice weather in these parts is not going to last very long. If I didn't act soon, it would be too hot to think of cooking and baking. I did have inspiration from the weather. If

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-45876946063389943472010-03-19T22:30:00.002+08:002010-03-20T16:56:21.046+08:00

Pulaos are my go-to dish. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is or what time of the day it is. I love the fact that a one dish meal (the fill it, shut it, forget it kind) can be so tasty, so colourful and so nutritious. If all I’m serving along with this meal is a raita, I make sure I add soya chunks to for the protein element. I usually add all vegetables that I can find and there are

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-21940790308148684052010-03-05T00:30:00.000+08:002010-03-05T00:30:00.665+08:00

I make a lot of mixed vegetable dishes, especially in winter. I’ve gone on endlessly about how I like a colourful plate. I found a whole bunch of vegetables that needed to be used up, and quickly. It was time for my weekly vegetable purchasing spree and I had just 1-2 pieces of each vegetable left in the crisper. I made this dish for lunch and used one vegetable of every variety I had on hand. I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-59434035510039638812010-03-04T00:30:00.000+08:002010-03-20T19:58:33.142+08:00

Winter. I have to talk about it in the past tense. As early as the first week of March. I’ve enjoyed using winter vegetables in just about every dish these past 3-4 months and I’m going to be sorry to see them disappear over the coming 2-3 weeks. Then it is back to the Tinda-Tori-Bhindi-Kundru-Lauki routine, all the way until November. Such is life.I bought some zucchini to make a stir fry, but

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-81243451371118340642010-03-03T00:30:00.010+08:002010-03-25T13:54:33.400+08:00

February came and February went. The entire month just whizzed past without a single post on this blog. In fact I haven’t been off to a very good start to The Singing Chef this year. While my other blog has seen a post, OK, a picture, a day, two months in 2010 have gone by with just one post here. I have been cooking. I’ve been cooking a whole lot more than I normally do. I haven’t been

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-77650937429092282442010-01-24T18:50:00.000+08:002010-01-24T19:00:04.078+08:00

The new year has been around for over three weeks and I have not visited this space to post anything. I haven't really cooked anything new. And if I have, I haven't had a chance to take a picture. In those rare cases where there is a picture, I haven't uploaded it. If I have, I simply haven't gotten around to blogging about it. I have been actively participating in the Project 365 and a fair bit

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-67987039612292157492009-12-31T22:30:00.004+08:002010-01-04T19:50:52.453+08:00

Good things come in small packages! That is how I feel about the year that just went by. It was one of those years when nothing "big" happened. But, all the same, it will be remembered as the year with a lot of "small" events, the sumtotal of which is bigger than any "big" event. It has been a year well spent, surrounded by friends and family right from the word go. We started the year with a

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-51300173222044693732009-12-30T22:30:00.001+08:002009-12-30T22:30:00.178+08:00

When my parents spent a month with us, I realized that I barely cooked. I seemed to cook lunch for S and myself, but Amma took care of almost everything else. One weekend, I decided to drag my lazy self into the kitchen and cook a meal. I wasn't donning the chef's hat yet, so I wanted to be out of the kitchen as soon as possible. So, pasta it was. I got a lot of appreciation for a lunch that

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-22668578303440290082009-12-29T22:30:00.002+08:002009-12-29T22:30:00.568+08:00

Winter! I absolutely love this time of the year. Probably not as much for the festive season as for the array of winter vegetables that I see each time I visit the markets. I find fruit and vegetable shops most visually appealing at this time. Summer can be quite depressing as you only mostly see varying shades of green and not the red, yellow, orange, purple and green that you see in winter.I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-45170853558042462802009-12-28T22:30:00.000+08:002009-12-28T22:30:00.591+08:00

Carrots. I can't seem to get enough of them ever. Especially the lovely red carrots that make an appearance at this time of the year. I tend to put them in everything from salads to pulaos to casseroles to cakes and desserts. I had eaten carrot kheer only once. A classmate of mine invited me to her place for lunch almost a decade ago, and she served this for dessert. Ever since, I've wanted to

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-44495668785207567392009-12-27T22:30:00.003+08:002009-12-27T22:30:00.286+08:00

Elaborate lunches. They get pushed to weekends. When the weekend comes, they get pushed back into the next week. This kept happening for quite a while before I realized that we were eating one pot meals all the time. One weekend, I decided to fix this issue and made a konkani meal. Sukke, dali-saar and rice. Not elaborate by any standards, but when all your other meals are pulaos or mixed rice

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-72729673817328137952009-12-26T22:30:00.001+08:002009-12-26T22:30:00.420+08:00

At the very last minute, my friend asked me to bring some cake for her birthday party. It was a weeknight and I had very little time. So, I relied on my time tested recipe and modified it. Carrots are in season and I love putting them to use in every way I can. I had some rum soaked raisins at hand, and they added a wonderful flavour to the cake. The cake came together very quickly and was gone

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-27075085492139296302009-12-25T22:30:00.003+08:002009-12-25T22:30:01.305+08:00

A few weeks ago, I had almost lost all my enthusiasm to cook. I was excited about being in a new house with a slightly bigger kitchen. But because my kitchen wasn't yet organized, I didn't seem to care that much about cooking. Also, thanks to some new cab routing issues, I was also getting home about an hour later than I used to earlier. So dinner was usually something I tried to "get over with"

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-20072610382762133092009-12-25T02:26:00.002+08:002009-12-25T21:44:40.668+08:00

Last month, I set out to put the Sunshine Mom on a trial of a different kind. I asked everyone out there to go through her blog and read her recipes. After that all that was needed to be done was to cook something from there and talk about it on their blogs. Simple, you'd think. It is only when you get to Harini's blog and start looking at the sheer variety of recipes that you realize that the

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-84797980246129609982009-12-04T00:15:00.000+08:002009-12-04T00:19:44.504+08:00

When we moved to this new apartment, I somehow didn't manage to cook anything decent for the first few days. But we still took our lunch packed in boxes. The lunches usually had soya, paneer, peas, lentils... you get the drift, don't you? Since Amma and Appa were here then, Amma would make dinner each night and that was the only meal which gave us our vegetable fix.Soya makhani is one such dish

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-76468169334651235312009-11-30T22:30:00.000+08:002009-11-30T22:30:01.969+08:00

These days I seem to need all the inspiration I can find to cook. I've tried different meal plans, tried to cook as much as possible in advance, etc. But there are days when even the best laid plans turn their noses, lift up their thumbs and say Na-na-na-na-na. Last Thursday was one such day. I remembered my namesake's moussaka and Nupur's green bean casserole and ended up making a casserole with

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-86789257644251559242009-11-29T14:45:00.000+08:002009-11-29T14:46:50.589+08:00

I have a colleague and cabmate, S, who has a colleague and best friend, D. D's mother is, like my colleague P's mother, an excellent cook. Since I leave for work very early, and since I cook our breakfast and lunch in the morning before leaving for work, I end up eating breakfast at work because there just isn't any time. Very often, S and D have their breakfast at the same time in the office

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-63749802035238673472009-11-28T17:30:00.001+08:002009-11-28T17:33:20.083+08:00

I have been having so many problems with blogger of late that I don't even know where to start. This seems to be the cooking season and I see new recipes, new resolutions and absolutely finger licking yummy food everywhere I look. I had lost my inspiration to cook in between and found comfort in the dal-roti-rice-sabzi routine. My new cab route leaves me with 3-4 hours of time to spare, depending

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-953622390595594322009-11-22T16:50:00.002+08:002010-03-20T20:01:40.765+08:00

I've talked often about how I eat everything, all fruits and vegetables and all kinds of foods without exception. There are some things I know I like and there are some things I like simply because my dear brother, H, couldn't stand them. The opposite of this also held true for quite a while. I didn't "like" lady's finger simply because he loved it. Yam was (and still is) the one vegetable he

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-89585424471452311782009-11-16T22:30:00.000+08:002009-11-16T22:30:01.395+08:00

It is a known fact that I love upma for breakfast. What I really love about upma is the ease with which the dish is ready. My real favourite has to be the Indian pancake variety: Dosa, Uttapam, Pole, Doddak, etc. When we visited Bombay last month, I woke up early by force of habit (even though I was on vacation). That gave me some time in the kitchen with my aunt. This aunt has been the

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-78765456489872391422009-11-15T20:30:00.001+08:002009-11-15T20:30:00.238+08:00

When I started blogging, I don't think I had even tasted Pumpkin Soup. Pumpkin was best used in sambar or vathal kuzhambu. I didn't think very much of this vegetable. Amma used to make a typical upkari with finely chopped pumpkin, but I didn't miss it if she didn't make it for a decade. I loved making (and eating) Pumpkin Pie. In the past couple of years, I have used this vegetable extensively in

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-88181783533020890662009-11-14T18:02:00.002+08:002009-11-14T19:34:04.525+08:00

I have always avoided buying chillies. But I usually end up with a bag of the "bajji" variety chillies in the hope of making mirchi bajji. I have made that once (but sadly, the post languishes in my drafts) and the other times that I bought the chillies, I saved the bag from going into the trash by making this once and this the other time.Today was a little different. I was quite determined to

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-31841382266538518052009-11-07T21:41:00.007+08:002009-11-14T13:42:02.765+08:00

After a really long hiatus, I am finally back. Thanks again to all of you who've stopped by to ask how I've been doing. I do need to get back into the groove of blogging and blog hopping. So, what better way to do this than to host an event. Zlamushka's Tried and Tasted train now halts for the month of November at my station, The Singing Chef. And this month, we celebrate the very versatile blog

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-43220240698806901482009-10-22T22:30:00.001+08:002009-10-23T20:18:51.046+08:00

My new found love seems to be experimenting with flavours. I seem to enjoy giving a little twist to seemingly old tales. I made these cinnamon sugar muffins after fantasizing about cinnamon doughnuts one morning. These aren't quite like the doughnuts, but could come a very close second.2 cups Flour3 tsp Baking Powder1 1/4 cups Sugar1 tsp Salt1/2 cup Oil2 eggs1 cup Milk1 tsp Vanilla1/2 cup Brown

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-59240833979654920132009-10-20T02:30:00.002+08:002009-10-20T12:33:22.673+08:00

I've been rather silent here. A lot of you asked me if everything is OK. Thanks and I was glad to be missed. Since my 500th post on my anniversary, lots of things have happened. My parents came to Gurgaon, we shifted residence, I accompanied Amma on a yatra to Kashi and Prayag, returned in time for Deepavali, only to fall ill the day before my favourite festival.On the whole, while we did

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-42580214331938500952009-09-18T15:30:00.002+08:002009-09-18T16:25:07.978+08:00

... you will know that I am gone. You can hear the whistle blow a 100 miles.I'm sure you're all wondering what these lines have to do with my food blog. Agreed that this is the blog of The Singing Chef and that music has to be a part of this journey. Read on till the end if you want to unravel this little mystery. This is a long post.I have always talked about why blogs and cookbooks will

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-38851749425163094822009-09-15T22:30:00.000+08:002009-09-17T13:03:55.836+08:00

This is the pizza I've always spoken so highly of. The pizza we grew up on. Long before Pizza Hut and Pizza Corner or Domino's came into India, this pizza replaced dinner on Monday nights. After talking about it for ages, I bring to you Amma's famous mushroom and capsicum pizza.For the dough:1 1/2 cups Flour1 tbsp Yeast1/8 cup Oil1/2 tbsp Sugar3/4 tsp Salt1/4 cup Water, boiling1/4 cup MilkFor the

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-36268880013531535522009-09-13T22:30:00.000+08:002010-03-20T20:01:40.769+08:00

I was first introduced to Aloo Methi when I was about 10 or so. My eldest cousin married into a North Indian family and when we visited her, she served us this with hot phulkas. Fortunately, she warned me that it might be a little bitter. I guess I was prepared for the worst. As it turned out, I ended up loving this dish. I make it at least 1-2 times a month when fresh fenugreek leaves are in

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-35251974830983853682009-09-11T22:30:00.000+08:002009-09-11T22:30:00.400+08:00

One of the things I’d forgotten about thanks to my “daily cooking rut” was casseroles. They’re versatile, they’re fun, they’re fuss-free, well almost. And the nicest part is that you can even just pop some slices of bread in the toaster, serve it along with the casserole. “Voila! It becomes a meal!” I’m slowly rediscovering the joys that only casseroles can bring (especially after a back breaking

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-21298206221174490622009-09-09T22:30:00.001+08:002009-09-09T22:30:00.483+08:00

After trying all kinds of different muffins, I decided to try my hand at making the plain vanilla edition (Pun fully intended!). I was quite happy with the results. This recipe forms the perfect base for different flavours and I can't wait to try them out. These vanilla muffins (known as "plain" muffins at the coffee shop downstairs - I think it they could have gotten a little more innovative

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-59771381858730161712009-09-07T22:30:00.000+08:002010-03-20T19:53:49.684+08:00

When we’re hosting a party, I am either extremely laidback (which means some Haldiram’s kind of items will flow from their packets, some McCain’s stuff will migrate from the freezer to the oven, and we’ll make do with what we have) or go extremely overboard (make cutlets, cut vegetable sticks and make a curd dip to go along with it, bake some savoury biscuits, crackers, muffins, mini pizzas etc,

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-65315697698494969152009-09-05T22:30:00.001+08:002009-09-05T22:30:00.343+08:00

I can't remember where I tasted this soup first. But I do remember having loved it at first slurp! I made this on a day that I had a lot of tomatoes and a whole bunch of fresh basil. I know that tomato and basil are truly made for each other. I threw in some boiled macaroni and made a meal out of this soup.6 Tomatoes, chopped1/4 cup Basil leaves, roughly chopped1/2 cup Macaroni, prepared

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-15325421125434217372009-09-03T22:30:00.000+08:002009-09-03T22:30:00.483+08:00

I didn't always like the taste of smoked brinjals. I love brinjals otherwise, but this one method of cooking was never a favourite. If Amma wanted to make thogayal/thuvayal, she would steam the brinjals in the cooker. Now, I have come to appreciate the flavour a lot more. When Amma was here sometime back, she made this Baingan Bharta. Even my Punjabi colleagues said it was to die for.1 large

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-71023371939491739052009-09-01T22:30:00.002+08:002009-09-01T22:30:00.369+08:00

There's something nice about muffins. Something that makes them better than cake. I have not figured out what that is. It could just be that good things come in small packages. Whatever it is, I can't resist these little beauties. As I was off to Mumbai for a couple of family functions, I made these muffins to take with me for the extended family.1 1/2 cups Flour1/3 cup Cocoa Powder3 tsp Baking

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-81116502908326587422009-08-30T22:30:00.003+08:002009-08-30T22:30:01.042+08:00

Festivals are always about food, aren't they? When I know a certain festival is coming up, I plan what I'm going to make. This year, Gowri Tritiya and Ganesh Chaturthi came on the same day. (I doubt I will ever understand the Indian calendar system!) So, while we performed both the pujas in the morning, I decided to make Tritiya food for lunch and Chaturthi food for dinner. (Including dali saar

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-57616874326453176712009-08-28T22:30:00.001+08:002009-09-14T17:24:17.029+08:00

For the longest time, I cooked with only Toor Dal. At best, I'd make this moong dal preparation. I have tried very often to cook with other dals and I find that mixing them up is the way that works well with me. The flavours are part known and part unknown. So, I know for a fact that I won't be completely repulsed by a new flavour.This is one such mixed dal. I got the idea from one of Tarla

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-91487092389084622202009-08-26T22:30:00.006+08:002009-08-26T22:30:00.506+08:00

Every once in a while, I find that I have to cook for just myself. Either S isn't home for dinner or he's traveling. I don't like to cook up a storm on those days unless I have friends coming over. Soups come to my rescue at such times. I don't believe in there being the "right weather" for soup. There isn't a right weather for rice or rotis, so why single out soups.I had some chopped yellow

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-57678384099608579232009-08-20T22:30:00.001+08:002009-08-21T11:34:15.919+08:00

Birthdays without cake. To me, it is almost like going through college and not earning a degree at the end of it. There's a certain feeling of incompleteness. There are many people I meet who tell me I should grow up and not worry so much about cake on a birthday. There's no fun in growing up, if it means you have to live without cake, is there?So, although we returned home after a six hour drive

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-46260541575633870172009-08-18T22:30:00.001+08:002009-08-20T13:22:11.093+08:00

I bought some mangodis for the first time two years ago. The store manager of the supermarket where I picked it up was really nice and he even told me how to cook the stuff. I have not really made the dish he told me about, but I liked the fact that he took the trouble to explain stuff to me. One day, I shall blog about his recipe.When it comes to trying out new Gujarati or Rajasthani food, I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-9382595411417159072009-08-16T18:30:00.002+08:002009-12-17T19:28:55.982+08:00

A few weeks ago, S and I were running around to make sure we filed our IT returns in time. We left home after a good breakfast and hoped to return by lunch time. That wasn't to happen. When we were done with all our little errands, including our returns, we were famished. We stopped by for a quick bite at the newly opened coffee shop: Mocha. I've been to Mocha in other cities, but I loved the

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-69895277459785061602009-08-15T12:25:00.003+08:002009-08-28T19:06:51.670+08:00

Janmashtami! One of the more important festivals for my family. There seemed to be some confusion with the dates. Apparently, it was to be celebrated on the 13th, but everyone around me at work, was celebrating it on the 14th. Then Amma dropped the bombshell last afternoon. She said some folks were celebrating it next month. So, it didn't seem wrong to celebrate it on the 14th after all. I didn't

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-84237665132120833772009-08-13T22:30:00.002+08:002010-04-13T18:28:59.128+08:00

Exotic vegetables needn't be only used for exotic dishes. They can be adapted to our day to day foods as well. Now, it is one thing to use local vegetables in our traditional dishes, but quite another to find special vegetables and then use them in "ordinary" dishes. I remember the first time Amma bought Brussels Sprouts in Madras. And she made upkari in the same manner as she'd make this. I

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-47766036542883964122009-08-11T22:30:00.000+08:002009-08-11T22:30:01.237+08:00

I had this bag of chillies that I have no idea why I bought. My friend suggested that I pick it up so I could make Mirchi ka Salan. The idea seemed nice and all that, but I never did get around to making mirchi ka salan. After all, that dish tastes best with some authentic biryani on the side. Now, I’d think it is an effort to make biryani itself. So, for me to make biryani and then this mirchi

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-23608901191536964012009-08-09T22:30:00.002+08:002010-03-20T20:03:05.679+08:00

There are snacks and there are snacks and then there is Sundal. To me sundal has always been a tasty and filling snack. But more than that, it is a guilt free snack. I mean, how many snacks do you know of that would fit the bill here? While I have used kidney beans in a variety of ways. I was surprised to note that I hadn't tasted it in its sundalavatar! I tried it and I was quite impressed.1 cup

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-28380650023912358152009-08-09T00:59:00.002+08:002009-08-09T02:14:03.439+08:00

This is one cake I've made many times over. It is supposed to be the one cake that Appa loves. For some reason, I always remembered this recipe as being extremely complicated. It had been a while since I baked this last. At least 7 or 8 years, if I remember right. For years, I followed the recipe that Tarla Dalal's book, "The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking" carries. This afternoon, I used my own

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-51181729942252237242009-08-07T22:30:00.001+08:002010-03-20T19:58:33.146+08:00

There are many vegetables I just never bought because I didn’t know how to cook them. For the longest time, I only cooked with the so-called English vegetables. Slowly, over the last couple of years, I have started getting better acquainted with many vegetables. While I have jumped with joy to find even those vegetables that I couldn’t have cared less for in a different avatar, I have started

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-25582255834659233782009-08-04T02:29:00.003+08:002009-08-27T11:33:01.072+08:00

Happy Birthday Sachin!We went to Kasauli to spend the "birthday weekend". But just as soon as we returned home, even though the birthday was almost over, I baked a blueberry cake. Birthdays just aren't complete without the customary "cake cutting", are they? I haven't had a chance to post the pictures of the cake I baked for S. That would warrant a separate post. For today, I leave you all with a

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-76103580374499470252009-07-20T22:30:00.000+08:002010-03-20T20:08:12.174+08:00

Macaroni with vegetables in white sauce is an absolute favourite of mine. When S and I met a friend in Hyderabad, he told S that I was a good cook. And that I tried very hard to match my mother's cooking standards. He went on to say that there were many dishes that I made really well, but that there was this one dish I just couldn't make the way she did. I can only keep trying!1 cup Macaroni (Or

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-40751396658041404332009-07-18T22:30:00.001+08:002009-07-18T22:30:00.204+08:00

A trip is always fun. A trip by road is even more fun. A trip by road in your car is even more fun. A trip by road in your car with your good friends is even more fun than that. But the best of them all is a trip by road in your car with your good friends and a basket full of homemade food.We set out on this journey last month to an old Haveli in Rajasthan. S and I, along with out friends P and N

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-68655519898885005752009-07-16T22:30:00.003+08:002010-03-20T20:08:12.178+08:00

Tinda is one summer vegetable that I absolutely detest. But I bought a packet of it last summer and tried this. This year, I am even stronger in my resolve to eat with the seasons and not try and find winter vegetables in summer, pay through my nose for them, and then feel that they weren’t really worth it.My dear friend P now works for Field Fresh, a company that is into fresh produce. Every

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-17921523510233654912009-07-14T22:30:00.002+08:002009-07-15T16:26:14.724+08:00

Our trip to the Piramal Haveli in Rajasthan coincided with not one, but two special events in our life. Of the two days that we were there, one day was the anniversary of the “dinner” that S and I had at Pebble Street in Delhi. That life altering dinner where sparks flew and we knew that we weren’t going to spend the rest of our lives being “just friends”, that we were going to be much more than

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-59955232481077496122009-06-29T22:30:00.002+08:002009-07-09T13:34:29.560+08:00

Restaurant menus always give me plenty of ideas. Even if I never order many of those dishes listed, I have made a note of the combinations and give them a shot when I can. At the very least, these dishes help break the monotony. And it's only uphill from there on.I tried this very pretty combination for dinner one night. The combination with rotis was nice. Not as nice as Palak Paneer, but nice

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-39016244711010697682009-06-28T12:56:00.001+08:002010-03-20T20:08:49.098+08:00

This is one dish I somehow didn't eat when I was growing up. Amma just didn't make it. So, I didn't develop a taste for this. We had carrots in just about every other form. Just never in the form of a traditional steamed side dish with rice.I did taste something like this made by a friend. But she was just learning to cook at the time and I never was sure if the dish tasted that way because she

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5100750783273781355.post-82347220413369527202009-06-17T22:30:00.000+08:002009-06-17T22:30:02.289+08:00

This post here took me back in time. To about 11-12 years ago. I’d just enrolled in French classes and I had to figure out a way to eat breakfast before the hostel mess opened. So, every once in a while, I would get a loaf of Masala Bread from Nilgiris or Hot Breads. I had to eat Masala Bread because I couldn’t store butter in my hostel room. Eating masala bread by itself was better than eating

Raagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14736416344880614248noreply@blogger.com25